how do you solve a problem like talladega?

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Wanna know what my reaction was to the end of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway?

Jaw. On. Floor.

I couldn’t believe it. Here I was thinking that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was going to win it and then Brad Keselowski comes from outta nowhere — after getting in the way all day — and takes it.

Only seven laps in we got a “Big One” that took out guys that I like, including Bowyer and Gilliland, which was highly disappointing. But I still had Dale and the hope that he had read my post and had taken it to heart. Ya never know. Plus well, Talladega is a really good track for him so I’m sure it had everything to do with that and nothing to do with me, but because he left there with a top-three finish (which is what I asked for) I like to think it was mostly me.

Anyway, I congratulate Brad on his first Sprint Cup win.

I’m so glad that Carl Edwards is A-OK and that his crash only looked absolutely horrible and didn’t result in anyone’s death. Actually because of that insane fly through the air Carl will be a guest on “The Ellen Degeneres Show” that airs tomorrow (Wednesday, April 29th, check your local listings).

Apparently Ellen thinks that Carl should take it easy from now on and gives him a new ride, a “Cruzin Cooler”, to be exact. It’s a cooler on wheels. Niiice.

I don’t know the answer to the safety questions surrounding Talladega. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t like watching cars run 3 or 4 wide. It’s pretty cool. And yes, seeing the “The Big One” happen is interesting to me. It’s also crazy to see two cars hook-up and push each other past the entire field. It’s so unique and I like it. Whatever NASCAR needs to do to make it so that people don’t get themselves into the situations that Carl and Matt Kenseth found themselves in this past weekend they should do, but hopefully that doesn’t involve taking the banking away.

David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 Discount Tire Ford, celebrates his first NASCAR national racing series win Saturday in Victory Lane after capturing the checkered flag at the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet, waves to the fans following driver introductions and before the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Mike Skinner and his No. 5 Bad Boy Mowers Toyota team celebrate winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway. The win was Skinner’s first of the season and the first for the team since becoming Randy Moss Motorsports last summer. (Photo Credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet chats with former teammate Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota in the garage during Friday’s practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Earlier in the day, Stewart held a news conference about the 2009 Prelude to the Dream. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

2 Comments

What happened on Sunday afternoon was a perfect example of how NASCAR safety measures have kept drivers and fans safe. The roof flaps deployed. The catchfence kept the car out the stands. The bulletproof winshield probably saved Ryan Newman’s life. If NASCAR wants to improve safety it should invest in bringing the same technology to the local NASCAR sanctioned tracks in small towns all over the U.S. where fatalities are occurring every year. There is nothing wrong with Talladega.

I agree with dirtyair- the roof flaps were working and kept carl from going really airborne and the shatterproof windshied did probably save Ryan Newman’s life…

Not to down play the injury to the fans but a lot more fans would have been injured had there been no fence- or a lesser designed fence.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with talladega either and I am gonna go as far as to say that I don’t thing that either carl or brad did anything wrong. One was defending his position and the other was trying to pass legally. I would not want to watch a race where a leader would give up the lead easily to a car slinging past him and I don’t think that the car slinging past should just sit on his thumbs and be pleased to finish second without fighting for that win- that is RACING and it is dangerous and don’t tell me that those drivers don’t know that. I don’t know that there is a fix because frankly I don’t necessarily think that anything is wrong. As Jeff Gordon said “That’s Talladega.”

AND NOW…MY PICTURE COMMENTS:

1. Brad got congratulated by nearly as many people as Mark Martin- which was kinda cool.

2. I love Brad Daughtery because he towers over everyone and makes for great picture fodder- I swear Mark Martin must only come up to the man’s belly button!

3. Too bad NW wins don’t count in my fantasy league- Urg.

4. What on earth is Tony doing during that parade lap? LOL. I think a fan might of flashed him or something LOL.

5. GOOD for Mike Skinner- bad for me- I had to work and forgot to dvr the race. Urg.

6. Here Tony and Denny look like they are square dancing and chatting…you know doe-si-doe-ing or whatever where you lock arms and swing about….Maybe it’s how they kill time?